Noozhawk’s note: Our Ben Preston is taking leave of Noozhawk to pursue his master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University. Before departing for the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, we sent him on a long trek — a really long trek — along the Santa Ynez River as it makes its way through Santa Barbara County’s backcountry. The results of his journey provide a picture — actually a series of slideshows — of this vital water resource that many of us never see.
Running west from the Murietta Divide, through the Santa Ynez Valley and out to the Pacific Ocean at Surf Beach, the Santa Ynez River is one of the region’s largest rivers, and one of its most important. Aside from providing Santa Barbara County’s South Coast with most of its water, the river also creates habitat for scores of plant, animal and insect species.
From the river’s remote headwaters — located near the boundary between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties — to it’s middle, there are three reservoirs. The first, and highest, is Jameson Lake, which provides the Montecito Water District with about 20 percent of its supply. Next is the city of Santa Barbara’s Gibraltar Reservoir. Sprawling across the bottom of the valley about halfway down the river’s ocean-bound course is Lake Cachuma, which supplies the entire South Coast with about 80 percent of its water supply.
Although population has increased since the first reservoir concrete was poured on the Upper Santa Ynez River bed in the 1920s, outside sources of water are still only a small part of the resources used by South Coast farmers, business owners and residents. As fish habitats have been restored and silt has gradually decreased the volume available for storage in the three reservoirs, water agencies have begun to look at a number of strategies — including more attentive groundwater management on the coastal side of the Santa Ynez Mountains — to ensure a reliable water supply well into the future.
Aside from all of its technical aspects, the Santa Ynez River — dammed and undammed parts alike — presents many beautiful aspects to behold. I’ve done my best to capture a few of them for those who haven’t had time to venture into the Santa Ynez Valley to appreciate this vital, and often unconsidered, resource sitting right in our own backyard.
Jameson Lake
Stop one on my travels through the Santa Ynez River watershed was Jameson Lake. Only nine miles from Montecito as the hawk flies, the reservoir is a grueling 1½-hour drive on twisty, often unpaved roads through the Santa Ynez Mountains. Impounded by Juncal Dam, Jameson Lake provides the Montecito Water District with about 20 percent of Montecito’s water supply. The rest comes from various other sources, including groundwater wells, water from Lake Cachuma farther downstream, and also water from the State Water Project.
Gibraltar Reservoir
Farther downstream, and a few hundred feet lower in elevation than Jameson Lake, is Gibraltar Reservoir. Still in a remote area of the Santa Ynez Valley, it is nonetheless a more frequently visited destination for hiking, fishing and mountain biking than Jameson. According to the dam keeper — who did not wish to share his name with the public — this can lead to problems with illegal fishing and trespassing at the lake.
Lying athwart the fabulous Gibraltar Narrows on the Santa Ynez River, the dam was built at a time when groundwater wells and the century-old Mission Dam on the coastal side of the Santa Ynez Mountains were no longer meeting Santa Barbara’s needs. Completed in 1920 and raised in 1948, Gibraltar is an important part of the city’s water supply portfolio, and is at times relied upon by neighboring communities when water from Lake Cachuma is impeded by maintenance issues.
Lake Cachuma
By far the most recognizable and heavily relied upon reservoir on the Santa Ynez River, Lake Cachuma, impounded by Bradbury Dam, is the heart of the South Coast’s water supply system. Completed in 1956, the Cachuma Project was Santa Barbara County’s first large-scale federal water development project. Everything — including the dam, tunnel, pipeline and coastal balancing reservoirs — was finished and ready to use in six years.
Water from Lake Cachuma flows through the 6.5-mile long Tecolote Tunnel into Tecolote Canyon in the foothills above Goleta. From there, it is fed into the South Coast Conduit, a 26-mile long pipeline forming the backbone of the region’s water infrastructure. The city of Sana Barbara, as well as the Goleta, Montecito and Carpinteria Valley water districts and a handful of smaller entities all use water from Lake Cachuma. South Coast water agencies also rely on Cachuma’s vast network of pipelines and reservoirs to collect deliveries from the State Water Project.
Santa Ynez River Estuary
As it wends its way downstream from Bradbury Dam, the Santa Ynez River leaves Los Padres National Forest and enters the more populated Lower Santa Ynez Valley. Passing through Santa Ynez, Solvang, Buellton and Lompoc, the river finally reaches the Pacific Ocean.
While the cities along the river’s lower reach rely on its water, so, too, does wildlife. Man’s activities have taken a toll, however. California golden beaver once flourished on the banks of the river and its tributaries, but the 19th century quest for coveted beaver pelts caused the near extinction of the once prolific species. The same holds true for the region’s steelhead trout, which had much of their habitat wiped out with the construction of Gibraltar, Juncal and Bradbury dams in the early 1900s.
Today, sections of the river made impassable to fish by road crossings and channelization are gradually being repaired. Along with the regional Cachuma Conservation Release Board — a sister organization to the Cachuma Operation & Maintenance Board — a number of state and federal agencies are involved in fish passage projects along the Lower Santa Ynez River.
Although the area’s steelhead population had declined by 99 percent during the 20th century, restoration work seems to be allowing a slow comeback. There are also about a dozen beaver dams along the Lower Santa Ynez River’s tributary creeks. Unlike the massive manmade dams on the river, trout can usually swim around or through beaver dams.
— Noozhawk staff writer Ben Preston can be reached at bpreston@noozhawk.com.